Monday was a formality. The NFL and the Raiders had long been planning an escape from Oakland to Las Vegas. All the billionaires were waiting for was an official vote.
After years of shunning America’s gambling capital, the Raiders are set to build a stadium alongside a strip of casinos.
The historic vote wasn’t even a contest. The NFL owners voted 31-1 in favor of the relocation, the third time a franchise has moved in the last 15 months.
The one dissenting opinion? Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, who released a statement after the vote. Ross, who purchased the Dolphins in 2008, tried standing up for the Raiders fans in Oakland.
“My position today was that we as owners and as a league owe it to fans to do everything we can to stay in the communities that have supported us until all options have been exhausted,” Ross said in the statement, via Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. “I want to wish Mark Davis the Raiders organization the best in Las Vegas.”
Peter King of the MMQB is also reporting Ross was concerned that the Raiders are going from market No. 6 (San Francisco/Oakland) to market No. 40 (Las Vegas).
It’s been a surreal day for the entire sports world, let alone the East Bay in Oakland. Derek Carr has come out and reassured Raiders fans the team is going to remain positive and enjoy their final years in Oakland. 49ers GM John Lynch playfully campaigned for spurned black and silver fans to join Niner Nation.
The fact of the matter is this was a done deal a long time ago. Mark Davis does not have the money to pay for a stadium out of pocket; the local Oakland government was not willing to cut funding from other programs to fund the NFL. Nevada is providing public stadium funding for a state-of-the-art stadium. The Oakland Coliseum has been falling apart for years. The city, Davis and the franchise had adequate time to come up with a solution, but their interests were not aligned.
Still, if other owners had the attitude of Ross — putting fans before dollar signs — the Raiders could’ve bought more time to come up with a solution.